Franken called the internet “the ultimate self-distribution channel; the best part is that no one has to sell out unless they want to.”

The Minnesota Democrat warned that if the structure of the internet were to change, independent artists would have a hard time getting heard.

“I came here today to warn you that the party may almost be over,” he said. “They are coming after the internet hoping to destroy the very thing that makes it such an important tool for indie artists and entrepreneurs: its freedom and openness.”

He explained what the term means. “Net neutrality means that content… moves over the internet freely and moves at the same speed no matter what it is or who owns it,” he said. “For instance, an email from President Obama and an email from your tea party uncle come in at the same speed.”

He added that opponents of net neutrality often say that proponents want to change the internet.

“We have net neutrality right now and we don’t want to lose it. It’s not about changing the internet at all,” he said.

He said the problem exists when corporations decide to allow certain content to be transmitted at one speed and other content at other speeds.

“Big corporations are not inherently evil, but they have a legal obligation to make as much money as they can,” he said. “Paid prioritization would make these corporations gatekeepers to decide which content goes in the high speed lane and which gets stuck in traffic depending on who paid.”

He added that lobbyists are derailing efforts to prevent paid prioritization. “Every policymaker in Washington is hearing much more from the anti-net neutrality side than the side without lobbyists,” he said. “But everyone has more to fear from these big corporations than from us. It would benefit no one but them.”

“Let’s not sell out,” he concluded. “Let’s not let the government sell us out. Let’s fight for net neutrality. Let’s keep Austin weird. Let’s keep the internet weird. Let’s keep the internet free.”

Minneapolis native Leif Utne of The UpTake spoke with Sen. Franken before the speech.  “To me this is the First Amendment issue of our time,” he said. “The right seems to want to say that this is taking over the internet, but it’s not; it’s about keeping the internet the way it is.”

He provided an example, “You get The UpTake as fast as Fox News — and that’s the way it should be.”

The effort, led by public-interest group Public Knowledge and joined by the Media Action Grassroots Network and the Center for Media Justice, doesn’t call for tech-savvy protesters, just those with access to a phone. Net-neutrality supporters across the country have been asked to call their representatives and encourage a “no” vote to the proposed Repeal Act, that not only would kill the FCC’s regulations, but prevent the agency from ever ruling on this issue again.

For neutral-net supporters, the FCC’s regulations are modest: They don’t protect wireless users and allow various corporate loopholes for Internet companies.

But opponents argued at Wednesday’s hearing before the House Communications and Internet subcommittee on the FCC’s regulations, that the rulings would hurt business and competition.

As the Washington Post reported, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and his colleagues (the regulations passed in December, 3 to 2) defended the regulations against tough questions by Republican opponents, while Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) claimed the FCC’s rule would lead to even more regulations.

“If left unchallenged, this claim of authority would allow the FCC to regulate any matter it discussed in the national broadband plan,” Walden said. “Recall that the FCC concluded that consumers’ concerns over privacy are deterring broadband. Does that mean the FCC can regulate Internet privacy?”

Debates on net neutrality have been ongoing for years, but the finality of the Repeal Act has incited net-neutral supporters, who will be on the phones all day Thursday.

Center for Media Justice Executive Director Malkia A. Cyril wrote a column at the Huffington Post today:

On the heels of the Internet shut down in Egypt, it is more critical than ever that democratic governments limit the authority of private interests to determine what we have access to on the web in order to make more while giving us less. Right now, wireless users aren’t protected by the FCC’s net neutrality rules- providing us with immediate examples of what happens when a vulnerable community is abandoned to private interests.

MetroPCS, termed “Ghettro PCS” by many low-income black and latino subscribers, is a cell phone company that specifically targets its low-cost plans at low-income consumers. On its face, that sounds great. As a black working class wireless user, I want low cost service. But here’s the catch — while MetroPCS claims to offer unlimited service — it’s cheapest packages block phone users from access to the full Internet- allowing them to only use a few sites like Facebook and YouTube. Some say limited access is better than no access at all. But the real question is why can’t low-income phone users get great service at low cost without blocking their access to the whole Internet?

Figures released by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies have revealed that Comcast’s altruistic offer will provide 2.5 million low-income households with broadband, with the price tag set as $10 a month.

Approximately 63.5 percent of U.S. homes currently have access to the internet — under Comcast’s new provision that figure will rise to 65.9 percent, a 2.4 percent increase. Within the low-income camp, the increase is a slightly more notable 7 percent.

Increased access to the internet is increasingly accepted by demographic analysts as an indication of socio-economic advancement, and an essential tool to full participate in today’s economy and society. Joint research by National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Economics and Statistics Administration revealed strong socio-economic patterns in broadband distribution: 94 percent of homes with an income over $100,000 have access to broadband, compared with only 36 percent of homes earning less than $25,000. Education levels also influence the distribution of broadband with 84 percent of household with at least one college graduate having access to broadband, whereas only 28 percent of homes with no high school graduates are online.

But Comcast’s offer to increase access to the internet for America’s low-income population remains an overwhelmingly tiny step within an acquisition that confirms, and guarantees, Camcast’s position as the nation’s largest internet and cable provider.

Comcast’s initially voluntary promise to serve low-income Americans was made a compulsory part of the deal by the FCC — whose role is to protect the public’s interest and play arbitrator between media conglomerates in such deals. FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps remained outspokenly against the deal and warning that the merging of the two media giants put “new media on a road traditional media should never have taken- [further eroding] diversity, localism and competition.”

Included among the information TSA posted were the limitations of x-ray machines at airports and the fact that only 20 percent of bags checked in are hand searched for explosives.  The document also revealed sample CIA, Congressional and law enforcement credentials — all of which experts say would be easy for any terrorist to duplicate.

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, testifying at the hearing, said that “the security of the traveling public has never been put at risk. The document that was posted was an out of date document.” Still, she acknowledged that the posting violating procedures, and promised that agency staff, as well as the inspector general, will look into how exactly that happened.

“I’ve directed that we do a review department-wide of all of our components to make sure that we are being rigorous and very disciplined on what is posted and what is not.”

This post has been updated.

Paul Schmelzer of The Minnesota Independent (which currently ranks No. 29 among U.S. Politics Blogs) explains the rankings, which are designed to be more fluid than in the past:

According to the Personal Democracy Forum, Technorati — a blog search engine which keeps running measurements of the blogosphere — has switched to a new algorithm that takes a more immediate snapshot of a blog’s authority (authority is “based on a site’s linking behavior, categorization and other associated data over a short, finite period of time”). So, instead of generating its rankings based on six months worth of metrics, as it used to, it’ll look only at the past month — which means rankings in the top 100 can change somewhat radically. On Wednesday, the company’s blog explained:

“With the new algorithm, the resulting Authority will better reflect the fast-changing nature of the blogosphere. Its new inherent volatility will also show which blogs are rising and falling in authority, rewarding authors on posting frequency, context and linking behavior, as well as other data inputs.”

Also making Technorati’s list of top U.S. Politics News Sites: TWI’s sister site, The Colorado Independent, at No. 17. The New Mexico Independent ranks No. 87 among U.S. Politics Blogs.

we are accessing twitter from open proxies. they are closing them as fast as we can find them.

and:

I have massive incoming mail from twitter. cannot possibly reply. our internet conection is 27kb.

@PersianKiwi sent that from the Web, by the way. I’ll check this out for later in the day, but it’s fascinating that the regime is unable to block this powerful social-media tool.

And as the media is getting increasingly booted from Iran — a reporter friend who just left Tehran emailed last night that the regime is blaming the street demonstrations on foreign journalists and is arresting some — @PersianKiwi is live-Tweeting a demonstration from Tehran’s Engelhab Square: Can hear helicopters, cannot see them… my last ISP downed. have redialed new ISP, slow process. streets are packed with people. seems peaceful… the city is very busy. seems like everone is out but most shops are closed, business all quiet. not much normal traffic… call in from Enghelab Sq. Baseej [pro-regime paramilitary] outnumbered, just watching people march… am being told that there are injured students stuck in Tehan dorms. surrounded by baseej…. hearing rumours that Mousavi and Khatami are in azadi square now, unconfirmed…

But now like-minded individuals have really taken a quantum leap forward. Check out TroopTube, a video-sharing service recently created to keep deployed troops in touch with the outside world. That’s not its only function, of course: By sharing troop videos, the Pentagon goes a long way toward getting its message out in a fascinating and immediate way. But as anyone who’s ever been in an MWR tent knows, troops downrange really want something cool to watch when they’re not hitting up their Facebook or MySpace. TroopTube is an excellent and overdue idea, and while I think it was created by Military OneSource, which I think is outside the Pentagon communications directorate, I’m sure the staff at DOD New Media welcomes this project with open arms and is already looking for that one video where the dudes ghostride an MRAP.

After Obama’s Wednesday night infomercial, he sent a mass email calling out every supporter by name in the subject line:

It’s a little jarring, and almost certainly increases the email’s “open rate.”

This means a larger pool of people who could respond to this final plea for, you guessed it, donating five dollars “or more.”

After the famous infomercial had aired — and while the pundits still traded their meta-analysis on cable news — Clinton made a strong case for why Obama should assume the presidency in a time of great “peril.” It was important symbolism for voters who are still on the fence, as the two giants of the Democratic Party displayed what The Associated Press called “harmony like never before.”

Clinton also went out of his way to focus on Obama’s strengths — crediting his campaign’s massive organization and use of the Internet. You can see it in this clip on Obama’s YouTube channel: